Business Management

“Sometimes it’s the crazy ideas that work.” Is the end line in an article in Inside Housing called Mobile Rescue.
The article is about helping the homeless in Richmond, Virginia. Local church groups had both money and volunteers, but they were unable to secure planning permission for a hostel. Volunteers didn’t feel comfortable working on the inner city streets – remember this is America where homeless means roofless.
So how did they solve this problem? They bring the homeless to the suburban churches each and every night – and have done for twenty years. Every night 120 people are collected in specific buses at specific points around the city and shipped to different churches. These are the 120 who have booked in for the night – and they need to do it every night. They are given a bed and a meal, and then local agencies talk to them and try to sort out their issues. In all, about 170 people are involved in helping the homeless from various agencies. During the night both church volunteers and staff from Caritas, a homeless charity in Richmond, are there.
On the surface, it seems crazy, doesn’t it?
And yet it works.
When I first read the article, I thought it was nuts. Then I started thinking about the logistics, the expenses – all the practical aspects. This set up has done a number of things. To begin with, it certainly keeps overheads down. No building, no building related expenses, no security concerns, no expenses for volunteers coming into the city centre. The situation has brought all the agencies together, and, according to the article, kept the issue of homelessness in the minds of the local churches and people. The volunteers are working in an area of town they are comfortable with, they are able to give meaningful help to a serious local issue, and be involved in a church project.
It turns the whole issues on it’s head – why not bring people to the services, rather than the tradition bringing services to people.
It’s also a perfect example of creative thinking and not giving up when you can’t get what you want. I assume that the first idea was to create a hostel, and, when that was made impossible, someone came up with another idea which gets everyone to the same end.
So what’s the crazy idea in your office? Haven’t had one? Why not? The next time you are confronted with a problem, try turning your traditional solution on its head and let the creative genii out of the bottle. You may just find that this works – not just in the short term, but as a long term solution. Remember, it’s worked in Richmond for twenty years.